Surprise
by LilaStar
Summary: A look into the character of Sirius Black from an interesting point of view. Slight RemusSirius slash implied. Goes from first year until the end of OotP


None of it belongs to me, I'm just playing with it. It all belongs to the wonderful JKR.

This is also posted on my livejournal, any edits will probably occur there, but not here. (username: lilapotter, fics found in community: lilapotterfics)

10 points to the first person to tell me (correctly) who's point of view this is. )

Sirius Black was someone that none of us ever understood. He was a pureblood from a long line of Slytherins, and yet he was in Gryffindor. I think anyone who was there would clearly remember the day he was sorted. He was actually a fairly short boy, he didn't look overly happy either. He sulked as Professor McGonagall handed him the hat and scowled as he put it on his head. From his face and name alone, everyone was convinced he'd be in Slytherin.

But he wasn't. And the smile that spread across his face when the hat yelled 'GRYFFINDOR' could have lit up the entire Great Hall at midnight. Yes, that's a bit corny, but it honestly could have.

So, as you see, Sirius Black has been full of surprises since the day he set foot in Hogwarts.

I suppose the next big surprise was him befriending James Potter. James was also a pureblood, but from a long line of Gryffindors. I suppose with how Sirius had already defied expectations once, we should not have been so shocked when he did it again. He and James didn't stop at just allying two rival families, half-blood Remus Lupin and little Peter Pettigrew soon joined their motley crew as well. Strange things certainly happen in Gryffindor House.

After a few weeks, the staff and other students of Hogwarts ad come to expect the four of them to be inseparable. However, by the time a few months had passed, they realized that forcefully separating them (namely James and Sirius) was absolutely necessary in order to continue with class. So James was partnered with Peter and Sirius with Remus. It seemed to keep things calmer.

After all, if they were partnered with someone outside of their little group, odds are someone would end up hexed or in someway disfigured. And it usually wasn't one of those four.

First year came and went with its numerous surprises and second year began. The students all came back a bit older and with a bit more knowledge in their heads, but it was all basically the same. Sirius and his crew weren't all that surprising anymore, at least, just not as a group.

What was surprising was when Remus Lupin suddenly was no longer a part of that group. There hadn't been any sort of fight (that was known of) and nothing seemed to be overly wrong. In fact, Sirius in particular always looked remorseful when he'd look at Remus, which was quite a lot. The others did it too. Always looked sadly at Remus…just not as much as Sirius. Remus, on the other hand, would walk through the halls with his head bowed, purposefully not looking at anyone. He'd avoid his former friends, and to say the least, the loss of joy from the group seemed to have a dampening effect on the entire castle.

Thankfully, this didn't last long. Only a few days in fact, but it felt like months to watch them. None of us could help it. The four second years were truly fascinating. Their dynamics were unexpected and always changing. We all watched very closely.

When it was reconciled, it was as if nothing had ever happened. One day Remus had come down to breakfast with a book and his eyes on his toes, the next, he was smiling and stuffed between Sirius and James. Peter was attempting to walk backward in front of them and they'd call out directions to keep him from running into walls and people. The combination of a twelve-year-old's coordination and bad directions said through gales of laughter were bound to lead to SOME trouble. Peter just ended up walking into a suit of armor that didn't want to let him go again afterwards. Life with those four in the castle was always interesting…it took a lot of convincing to get Peter free. He didn't try and walk backwards anymore.

Sirius Black was never one who enjoyed spending time in the library. So when he was seen there several days in a row, by himself I might add, we were naturally curious. That's one we never figured out. But whatever it was he was doing, he accomplished it. After two weeks of nighttime visits, he finally left triumphantly.

Three years went by with little to interrupt the daily flow of life at Hogwarts- the Marauders, as they had come to call themselves (the professors had been calling them this for ages because of the havoc they wrought) would be inseparable, always pranking and sneaking about at nights. No Slytherin was safe from them. Particularly not Severus Snape. He'd somehow become they're favorite target.

Overall, they were typically immature, but no one ever really got hurt because of it. Well, Snape's pride perhaps, but not much else. But fifth year, things went horribly wrong. We feared that Hogwarts would never be the same again.

Sirius Black was always prone to flights of temper, and when these happened, he was especially prone to say things he really shouldn't say. But that's just how it had always been. There had been some interesting confrontations between Sirius and his brother, Regulus, largely due to this fact. But this time, it wasn't a fight between siblings.

Oh no, Severus Snape had managed to get Sirius into a right state. The only warning he'd give before he launched his verbal attack would be the way his eyes almost sparked. When grey eyes become fire for a moment, the only thing they can be truly compared to is molten hot silver. And that's exactly what happened with Snape on this particular day.

No one really knows what was said, but whatever Sirius was hissing at Snape apparently had something to do with Remus Lupin.

Did you know that Remus Lupin, sweet, calm, brilliant Remus Lupin…is a werewolf? We figured it out somewhere around his third year. It was the only thing that could explain his frequent absences, as well as the state he was in when he returned. Whispers between the professors confirmed it. There was a werewolf in Hogwarts, and Sirius told Snape how to find it.

It was months before things were right between the Marauders again. Remus eventually forgave Sirius for betraying him and Snape managed to keep his mouth closed. James went through several stressful weeks, trying to convince his friends to talk to each other. He gave up eventually and set his sights on Lily Evans, a fellow Gryffindor fifth year. She wanted nothing to do with him though.

In the end, Sirius and Remus did eventually return to the close comradeship they had previously shared, but there was something just a little bit different. And it was just between the two of them. Another secret for us to unravel.

You see, figuring out Sirius Black was our pastime. We never knew what to expect at all. Everyone else in the school was a bit predictable, just based on their families before them and the houses they were sorted into. Those we had no prior knowledge of developed a routine soon enough and became predictable as well. Sirius Black never did. He always had something new up his sleeve, something none of us were expecting.

So when Sirius was suddenly with Remus more than he was with James (despite the mess earlier in the term), it was yet another riddle. We watched as they'd walk through the halls side-by-side, noticed as they stood a little too close together, saw that when they'd whisper secrets to each other they'd actually connect, lips to ear. (Secrets had always been a part of their dynamics…Look at everything they did and everything they dealt with…a secret not kept was a disaster not even waiting to happen).

Really, it didn't take much to notice the affection those two had for each other. What was surprising was the fact that they acted on those affections. Seeing them kissing in an empty classroom was quite the shock, but at the same time, it was nice. They were happy. And once again, Sirius Black had defied expectations and common society. He was a rebel and an enigma.

Their relationship continued until they left Hogwarts. Beyond those doors, we don't know what happened. But we heard rumors.

For a while things seemed to be going fairly well, despite the war in progress. We heard that Sirius had faced his brother in a skirmish and ended up trying to save his life. He failed. But still, he risked himself for a Slytherin- whether he was family or not, it was still another of Sirius's surprises.

It wasn't long before things were getting even worse. Word was that the Dark Lord was after James and Lily Potter, along with their newborn son, Harry. They went into hiding. Dumbledore once was heard to say that Sirius was keeping their secrets, but if that was so, then Sirius soon not only surprised us but shocked us to the cores of our existence.

James and Lily were found and killed. While it brought about the fall of the Dark Lord, they were still killed. Sirius was soon accused of murdering their other friend, Peter, along with thirteen muggles. He was sent to Azkaban immediately.

This wasn't the Sirius that had brightened the halls of our home; it couldn't possibly be the same boy we had watched grow in intellect, wisdom, and love. It just didn't seem to fit. And yet at the same time, it did. Sirius always had something up his sleeve that we didn't expect. And we certainly didn't expect this.

Thinking on it now, it must have been a terrible time for Remus Lupin. He was alone again; everyone he loved was either dead or as good as dead. But we don't really know how he dealt with those times; we didn't hear anything about him for twelve long years. Years in which the dark times had been partially forgotten, but the world never restored quite to its former brightness. Shadows still lurked just out of sight, waiting for the right moment to reenter.

In fact, that was the same year that Sirius surprised the world again by being the first wizard to ever escape Azkaban. Word was that he was looking for young Harry Potter, looking to finish the job he had started twelve years ago.

How wrong we were! All along, more surprises. Always true to the light, never would have dreamed of killing his best friend. But another would, another who always had hidden in the shadows of his friends. Peter Pettigrew. But this was another surprise that hardly anyone ever learned. They never had a chance. Once again, Sirius Black surprised us.

He surprised us by dying, by leaving. By caring so much that he would risk his own life. By risking so much that he lost. Yet at the same time, he gained something too. He's free now. Free from prison, form hiding, from society, and from a world that would never understand him.

Sirius Black was a man of unknown depth and half known truths. We never understood him. Yet apparently, his life made perfect sense in his own eyes, for he felt no need to stay behind and explain it to us.

I suppose the ones that figured life out are the ones that are truly the most fascinating. After all, we never did. Otherwise, we wouldn't still be here; always watching.

And for once, we weren't surprised.


End file.
